High's Chimney Service

We met a High's representative at the Home Show in Germantown, MD and accepted the deal to clean and inspect at a very reasonable cost. We hadn't used the pre-fab fireplace in years because it was too expensive to repair and now I was finally ready to see just what was needed or to remove it completely while renovating our 40+year old home. They arrived within the scheduled time frame, totally efficient and knowledgable and told me all I needed to know to make the decision to engage the work after the cleaning and inspection. We also had them inspect the dryer venting and decided to completely replace the older dangerous tubing. The next day they came back with all materials to fit my smoke stack and proper vent replacement amost 20 feet and going through the ceiling between floors to the outside. The provider was on time, knowledgeable, and efficient with workmanship, materials, and took the time to educate us on their actions. They made sure to share the frequency of any maintenance and best usage methods. Best of all - stayed within the quote of $1500 for everything. Our previous quote just for the fireplace and chimney was $5000. WHAT A SAVINGS! We now can use our fireplace again and dryer both without safety concerns and save energy costs. We could not be more pleased and will definitely use them again and recommend to everyone.

I spent a bit of time deciding on a contractor to assist us with our older fireplace. I had received estimates from a couple companies and the estimate from High's was right in line with others in terms of price. There wasn't a major reason for the selection - many of the local chimney contractors seem reputable. I felt High's was responsive on the estimates and the crew did a very nice job onsite on the work. I had no issues. And the onsite lead spent time explaining various things I asked about. If I had a minor criticism it would be that the estimators can come across a bit pushy in terms of wanting you to start work right away. But, at the same time, the estimator was helpful and friendly and seemed to know his stuff. And, in the end, when we did decide to move forward they scheduled the work right away. High's seems to have a stable crew with some of them on board for more than 10 years plus. I figured that says something about the company. I would use them again.

We got three estimates before calling High's and all of them were terrible. High's was the first to be honest, reasonable, and answered questions intelligently. I was surprised at some of the other companies out there - I really felt like I was talking to used car salesmen instead of chimney services. High's was, fortunately, not like that at all. Our chimney works great now and we don't have any cracks or other structural problems that could be dangerous. They did a very nice job and were done in one day.

It was excellent. I've used them before so I know them. They canceled my reservation because of scheduling problems but they were very good because I've used them before. They're pretty much on time, they did excellent work, they're highly recommended, they know what they're doing and they do the job. They're pretty much the standard cost of cleaning chimney. I would use them again in the future.

Fast, efficient, and clean.

The service provided to me by High's Chimney Service worked out wonderfully. I had a Groupon that had expired three days before, but they wouldn't let me use it. I thought they would be swamped with work from people who bought the coupon, so I thought I'd just wait, but I ended up waiting too long. I've had them before, years ago. I had them come out to clean it when we first bought the house about 30 years ago. We stopped using the fireplace all together for years and years and years, so I didn't have them come out at all, because what for? Then, we had a smell in the basement that smells like sewer. It's intermittent and fleeting. I'll be downstairs working and then I'll come upstairs to get a drink or something and when I walk back downstairs, I can smell this sewer smell, which wasn't there before. So we thought maybe there was something dead up in the chimney and it seemed it would smell when it would rain or when it would snow and the snow would melt. So, that's why we had them come out too, because we still don't use the fireplace. They do a great job.

It was excellent. They mounted a new spring loaded damper on top of the chimney, which was perfect and what we needed. They really do a good job.

Outstanding work. Professional, polite, extra care to keep everything clean inside and out.

High's did excellent work! They have worked for us before in 2011 at a home in NE DC, and we were very pleased. I was thrilled to call them again and get the work done on our home. The people involved were professional, and the foreman made sure that he kept us up to date with the work that was being done, as well as walking us through each step of the process. The area where the work was done, inside and outside of the house, were left very clean. The cost was exactly what they quoted. It was also incredibly fast! The stove is wonderful, the house was very warm all winter, and we are highly impressed! I have recommended High's to others, and will continue to do so!

It was very good. Their price was good. They were very agreeable. The work was completed well and on time. I wasn’t here during the work, we were out of town so somebody else handled it but the quality of the work was good.

We have used them in the past and they have done a good job. They are a company that we are familiar with as opposed to the ones that we are not familiar with. We usually pick providers with good service records and reports. The workers were specialists in what they did. They were good.

Did a great job and very professional - we need to have some work done on the chimney and the technician was very very pushy trying to get us to commit to having it done right then and there. I realize that this is standard practice but was so annoying that we have decided to go with someone else.

We scheduled a chimney sweep at the DC Home and Garden show. High's showed up on time and inspected the chimney. They determined that we didn't need a cleaning and did not charge us for the inspection/visit or try to sell us additional services. Representatives were courteous. When we do need our chimney swept, we will be going with High's.

I have two woodburning fireplaces that were built with the house about 60 years ago. I'm in a townhouse and share a chimney with my next door neighbor. I had my fireplaces inspected and cleaned by another company and was told everything was okay. But after the cleaning, I started to notice a lot of smoke when i burned a fire. I also smelled and saw smoke in other rooms. Not good. I had the other company come back and inspect again and they found big cracks in the flue tiles and said I needed to break out the old tiles and put in a new liner for both fireplaces. They were to get back to me on an estimate.In the meantime I contacted High's for a second opinion. They came quickly and at no charge inspected both fireplaces. they agreed that I needed new liners and immediately gave an estimate of about $6200. That might seem expensive, but given the amount of work they did, I was very pleased. When they other company finally gave me an estimate, they said it would be more than $28,000!!High's crew was professional and hardworking. They kept the work-site clean and neat. They worked steadily for two solid days -- longer than they expected, because the job ended up being more complicated. But the company held to the estimate and I now have two fireplaces that draw beautifully, with no smoke in the house.I'm very, very pleased.

We called three companies to come for an estimate on a problem with our chimneys. It appeared that smoke was crossing between the 3 chimneys and if you did a fire upstairs, you could smell it downstairs. We had used High's twice before for cleaning at our old house and so we chose them for one of the estimates. We scheduled an appointment at our earliest convenience, they came promptly for the appointment and scoped the chimney as well as checked all the flues at the top. They said we would need a new liner on the main chimney and recommended capping off the third unused chimney (formerly for our oil furnace). Gene was very matter of fact, but told me all of our options. We had 2 other companies out after High's. The first didn't scope the chimney but said we needed a new liner and cap. The third just shone a flashlight from the top and the bottom and told us we should just clean it. We knew it needed more than cleaning since the scope clearly showed the erosion to the interior of the chimney. I am not sure why the second company didn't scope too to confirm it-- if I went to the ER and thought my arm was broken, I would expect an xray to confirm it even if it looked broken and hurt. Anyway, High's estimate as higher than Capitol Chimneys, but I certainly felt that High's had done a better job evaluating the problem and answering my questions. I called their office and they offered to pay the price quoted by Capitol Chimney. We booked them for the job quickly and they came and did the liner and capping. They were on time, clean, polite and even fixed the broken door on the fireplace screen. There was a problem that was found the next day in the downstairs chimney where the termix insulation had tracked through to the other chimney. They came out immediately at my convenience and diagnosed the problem and fixed it as well. I am thoroughly satisfied with the work done and will use them again!

Both crews (rebuilding and waterproofing) were very professional in their work and cleanup. The language barrier was a little more apparent on the waterproofing side, but they did their job. Though the caulking was a bit sloppy, it's not visible from the ground and it's working OK. I would advise anyone requesting an estimate from High's to be sure you know what you're getting. When I called for an appointment and estimate, I was told it would be $129.00 for an "inspection." When I asked whether that amount would be subtracted from the total if I went with High's, I was told "yes." Note: the High's blurb on Angies List says free estimate and senior discount. The two other companies (Champion and Town and Country) estimates were free of charge. I waited a few days after High's visit to review other estimates. When I contacted High's sales person with my decision, I asked about the $129.00 already paid. He said that offer was only good for 24 hours. When I threatened to cancel the deal, he relented and deducted the $129 from the total. That experience (and the masonry cracks) were the only downsides. Both were solved to my satisfaction. Since the repairs were done, we've had a couple of heavy rain and wind events, and there has not been a drop of water in the fireplace.

Our overall experience with High's Chimney was great. The estimate for a slightly larger scope of work was HALF of the original bidder's estimate, and the professionalism exhibited by Mr. Thomas and crew was exponentially greater than the first contractor. High's had done (excellent) work for a relative, and that, coupled with the high Angie's List endorsements, made it a no-brainer to contract them for my chimney project. I rate them in the highest category for accuracy, professionalism, cost effectiveness, and quality.

I initially hired High's to assess the potential for installing a fireplace back into my DC row house after it had been removed several years ago. Instead of trying to sell me an expensive job, Gene was honest with me about the scope and cost of the potential project and discouraged me from doing it. I then hired his crew to add a liner to my chimney so the hot water heater could properly vent (it was unlined and had no cap on the top of the chimney). His crew not only did a fantastic job installing the liner and cap, they replaced the hot water heater flue which wasn't even in the contract. They also helped me remove an old TV antenna from the roof which I was afraid would blow away in a storm. Very professional and would highly recommend them.

It was the first time we had used them. They were very fast and very clean. There wasn't a bit of dust in our house. They were done within a half day.

A neighbor had a good experience with High's doing a repair about a year ago, so on their recommendation I called for a cleaning since the previous people I had used were no longer in the business. I also went on Angie's list to read reviews and saw that the recent reviews were mixed but decided to try them anyway, again based on my neighbors experience. There were 2 gentleman and as soon as they got started looking up the chimney they began "pitching" services. They criticized the previous cleaning and used a video camera to show us how much damage there was in the flu. Statements of "should be condemned, unsafe to burn fires" were used to describe the flu. If we signed on that day they could give us a price of $2500 to replace the lining. Since I had read similar reports we did not authorize the repair but did have a certified home inspector perform an inspection. The results of that inspection were that we should re caulk the cap on top of the chimney and reinforce some of the mortar in the firebox. The flu was not deemed dangerous nor in need of repair.

In the fall of 2011 I had a couple of companies look at relining my 2 chimneys for the 2 wood burning fireplaces I use and they gave me price quotes. Before I decided whom to use, Highs Chimney Service was doing some work at a neighbors house and I asked them to look at my project. The foreman gave me an estimate that was in line with my expectations and they started work a few weeks later. The workers showed up on time, did a great job and cleaned up great. I was very pleased with the service they provided.

I have used them before and I thought they were fine with the cleaning, but the last time they came, I felt that the guy was a little too aggressive with his sales pitch about doing other work, so I did not necessarily appreciate that. They price was okay, the quality was alright and they were pretty punctual.

The brick work itself seems well done. High's has a 15-year warrantee so we'll see how it stands the test of time. The main problem we had was with communication. The original job took 2 days. However, the original work crew left some plywood from the old chimney and recaulked it to the new chimney--without talking to us, even though they had our cell number and we saw them the morning of the second work day. It took almost a month, and three visits from a second crew, to get that resolved. Each time the second crew came out, we were told that we would be getting a call from the office to talk about the problem and how it could be resolved, and we never got a call back. It wasn't until we told them that we were disputing their full charge with our credit card company that we got a call back and the person that called us was defensive and only begrudgingly helpful. I hope that we won't have to do anything more with this chimney for 15 years because given our experience, we can honestly say that we do not want to have to deal with High's coming out to "honor" their warrantee.

Upon being told by High's that my chimney was missing mortar joints and was unsafe, I got two second opinions ( from Winston's and Victorian Chimney Services). In each case I asked for a thorough evaluation of the chimney's structure and safety. Both gave it a clean bill of health. I could only feel that the High's representative had been trying to scam me. Since then I have had the chimney cleaned fall and spring (NOT by High's) with no indication of any structural problems, and perfect working when in use.

High's Chimney Service Inc's price was reasonable and when I called they came out on the same day. Their quality and professionalism were great.